3 Stages of Females

I've been processing and thinking too much recently. Too many of my girlfriends have been struggling hardcore with boys, careers, friends, family, roommates, and other issues which then make me reflect on my life. But during this processing I've come to the conclusion that I think there exists 3 phases of a female's life: Girl. Lady. Woman. And naturally, there are transition phases from and into each phase.

Girls are young. They have the desire to play and experience life through young eyes with a (hopefully) carefree spirit. But as girls age, they transition into being a lady. Ladies are still young and require protection from the world as life circumstances shape their character and personality. Ladies desire to be beautiful and still want the attention that was bestowed on little girls yet ladies want their independence and adventure. I think this is where the "gentleman" came into play way back in the day and since ladies want independence and adventure, that is now why we rebel and get angry when guys try to open doors for us.

The transition from becoming a lady to a woman is different. I think only maturity, experience and attitude makes the transition into womanhood. I do not think there are any age approximations on when this occurs either. There are some people I know that are in their late 20s and 30s that I still might classify as a lady versus a woman yet there are some teenagers that I have met that I would say are women.

I think my transition into womanhood began a few years ago when my mother was so weak during the holidays that I was the one giving orders on how to get prepared for the holiday parties and began prepping the food and telling my (much older) siblings how to help. It progressed this fall when a family crisis hit and my parents did not know how to properly react or respond and asked me as an equal what I thought our response should be. Now to fully understand this, in my very traditional family when I have sisters 47 years old, we have a hierarchy of age and experience with which comes respect; I had always been considered young and immature in comparison to the rest of my family. Until recently. (Note: God clearly had been preparing me for this situation the last 4 years of my life. There is no way that my past experiences and passions are coincidental. Clearly God was at work preparing us for this crisis.)

I obviously am not a woman yet. I do not know many that are at my age but many of us are in that transition stage. My girlfriends are generally still are all ladies. While transitions are deeply personal and gradual, the way one transitions depends on our faith and the community that surrounds us. Adults and friends can help protect and teach girls life lessons, they can hold ladies accountable through love and guard ladies' hearts, and should encourage women in their walk with God.